Will the world END next week? Viking apocalypse 'Ragnarok' due to arrive on February 22Feb 17, 2014 03:08By Chris Richards The predicted Armageddon coincides with this year's 30th JORVIK Viking Festival

Viking warriors have begun to arrive in York in preparation for the end of the world.

'Norsemen' from across the UK and further afield are converging on the historic Yorkshire town as Ragnarok, the final bloody battle predicted in Norse mythology approaches on February 22.

Believers say that when the fateful day arrives Earth will split open, unleashing the inhabitants of Hel.

The wolf, Fenrir, son of Loki, will break out of his prison and the Midgard snake Jormungand will rise from the sea.

Nidhogg, the dragon of the underworld, will gnaw at the world tree, Yggdrasil, until it groans and wilts.

Then as the ice giants of Jotunheim come thundering over the horizon, the dead heroes of Valhalla will descend from heaven to fight them.

These events were prophesied by the god Odin who had hung himself from Yggdrasill for nine days so he could die and be re-born with wisdom and foresight.

The apocalypse coincides with the 30th JORVIK Viking Festival, which is taking place in York until February 23.

Festival director Danielle Daglan said: "Ragnarok is the ultimate landmark in Viking mythology, when the gods fall and die, so this really is an event that should not be underestimated."

(I did a quick google and it been a band name used by a Norwegian lot (that figures) and a Swedish group as well.)

Ragnarok were formed in Auckland in 1974, out of the remnants of breweries band Sweet Feet. Andre, Ross and Mark were originally from Christchurch, where they were together in a three piece called Flying Wild at the beginning of the seventies. They then formed Sweet Feet and moved to Auckland, where they played the pub circuit. In 1974 they disbanded this group, and it was at that point they met up with Ramon York and Lea Maalfrid.

Applying glitter, dressing loud and developing a song list of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Yes, they formed Ragnarok. They quickly established themselves as being the ultimate acid band of the mid-seventies. They were right into synthesizers, where their instruments featured guitar synthesizers, keyboard synthesizers and mellotron. They all shared the vocals, but were also very fortunate to have one of the finest female vocalists around at the time, Lea Maalfrid, as a member of the group.